Curated OER
Behind the Ad: The Process of Producing a Political Commerical
Students examine how advertisements are produced for political campaigns. In groups, they view various examples of different advertisements and create their own ad by completing the steps listed in the lesson plan. They share their ad...
Curated OER
Get the Facts on the Candidates
Students work in teams to research candidates from a current political race. They access primary and secondary resources and differentiate between fact and opinion. Students present their findings to the class in an oral report and...
Curated OER
Promoting the Candidate
Students identify the role of political parties in presidential elections, then interpret objects from presidential campaigns.
Curated OER
The Nominating Process
Ten questions engage students in thinking about what they have read. They are quizzed on basic concepts related to the nomination process and primary elections.
Constitutional Rights Foundation
The Election of 1912
The Election of 1912: an election with four competitive opponents. Pupils get to know the candidates with informative reading passages that provide context to the election. Then, the class engages in a debate and answers questions as one...
iCivics
Win the White House
Here is a unique and engaging approach to learning about the steps a presidential candidate must take during a campaign. Learners role play the part of a candidate in this online interactive, taking part in a presidential...
Classroom Law Project
How do we hire a President?
What are the job requirements for the office of president of the United States? What attributes should a candidate possess? Are the qualities needed to govern the same as those needed to win? What can an analysis of the...
Curated OER
Christie Will Not Run for President
Readers answer eight who, what, when, why, and where questions as they read this New York Times article. They peruse the article to learn about Chris Christie and the 2012 presidential race. Next, they answer the related comprehension...
Curated OER
Bridge to the Future: Enlarging the European Union
The political, social, and economic challenges the European Union faces as it enlarges is the focus of a six-lesson unit. Class members investigate and craft a presentation about a member country, the treaties member states must...
Encyclopedia Britannica
Presidential Succession
"Who takes over if a president dies, resigns, is impeached, or is otherwise removed from office?" That is the question class members research. After listing the 18 successors in order, individuals respond in writing to a series of...
Curated OER
ONE VOTE
In order to understand the political process and the importance of voting, pupils will construct a class time line. They will group up and research a specific era, creating a time line of political events where one vote made a...
Curated OER
Social Studies: Campaign Finance Reform
Students develop arguments for and against campaign finance reform, examine federal and state laws that attempt to limit contributions to political candidates, evaluate various plans for campaign finance reform and formulate their own...
Museum of the Moving Image
Political Ads in Historical Context
Campaign ads target both timely issues and general themes. Presidential campaign ads from 1952 and 1988 provide class members an opportunity to compare how the topics ads choose to address can dramatically influence election outcomes.
iCivics
Mini-Lesson: Gerrymandering
Who determines the structure of voting districts? The concept of gerrymandering brings to light the ongoing issue of how those running for office gain votes. Hands-on activities enable scholars to analyze the re-drawing of voting...
Curated OER
Growing Voters and Election 2004: Classroom Debate
Students research the issues and platforms of candidates and separate propaganda from process in order to choose a candidate to support. Students examine political parties and their contributions to shaping the foundation of the...
Curated OER
Making Informed Decisions
Students discuss various issues of importance in the 1998 congressional and gubernatorial elections, create comparison charts of their states' candidates' positions on these issues, and decide which candidate they would vote for based on...
Curated OER
Select-a-Lawmaker
Students are assigned a party faction, examine bills voted on by their party faction last year, and find a candidate with a similiar view of government.
Curated OER
Playing it Safe
Students explore the importance of an election and act as political advisers for an upcoming election. Students create platforms for various candidates, by writing a letter to their candidate with suggestions for winning the election.
Curated OER
The Head Bone Derby
Ninth graders use the internet to explore the responsibilities and opportunities of voting. They research information on candidates and write questions for presidential candidates.
Curated OER
"The Election"
Students participate in an election for the purpose of comprehending the political process and the responsibilities that come with citizenship in a free society. They elect officials with no identity and are surprised with the revealing...
Curated OER
The Solid South Switcharoo
Young scholars examine primary sources. In this lesson on political parties, students view historic documents, speeches, and photos to trace the rise and fall of particular political parties. Young scholars will be looking at the success...
Curated OER
A Positive Spin
Study word choice and connotation in advertising. Readers examine campaign ads, both negative and positive, from the 2006 mid-term election before discussing an article and analyze a campaign of any candidate they choose. Finally,...
Curated OER
May The Best Character Win
Students examine the financial committment to running a campaign. They discuss the difference between electroal and popular votes. They realize how involved a political campaign is!
Curated OER
Andrew Jackson and the Formation of Political Parties
Eighth graders explore the political election process. They identify how the system changed during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. Students use analogies and discussion, and answering questions to explore Jackson and his cabinet. ...